FilmsFilms

It’s getting easier and easier to find and watch films online for free, either through streaming sites or through downloads. However, trying to find a quality online version of most films, especially recent releases, is nearly impossible.

This is because the best online versions of films come from DVD-Rips, and if a film has only just hit cinemas, it’s not hard to see why the first offerings will be of very poor quality.

There is a lot of debate over watching films online. One argument is that it is immoral and steals from the companies who make film, not just from big studio moguls but right down to the props manufacturers and labourers. Of course, downloading and streaming films is illegal, but it is one of those cases where actually finding out who has done it and punishing them is a Herculean task. The other option is for production companies to find ways to ‘pirate-proof’ their product, and this is possibly the most logical way forward.

But the downloading plague does bring up an interesting question about modern cinema audiences: if films are so widely available, and cinemas are notorious for making their money on food and drink rather than ticket prices, why do people still go to the cinema? Is the cinema experience worth paying not only a lot for, but choosing it over not having to pay at all? Or are there still a few people who refuse to delude themselves with the notion that they deserve to have something for free, no matter who ends up paying it?